Lifestyle, Music

Secret Is Out Cormier Dunning Lauzon

The Nickelodeon folk club hosted these guitarists last night to a sold out show. This is a quaint venue and by all accounts…this act deserves a bigger arena. They are seasoned pros with decades of guitar playing experience with Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier operating in tandum since the mid nineties. Jake Lauzon has proved to be a travelling companion producing yet more gel to the stage chemistry.

There’s so much material in addition to yet another release titled “Leather and Dust” that fan favourites “Kelly’s Mountain”, “Molly May”, and “Leaving Charlottetown” didn’t make the set list. Not only did they bring the house down but Dave Gunning’s dry humour with his soft spoke voice left some patrons in fits of laughter.

J.P.’s roots started out by winning fiddle and guitar contests in his youth. From there basic training involved acclimatizing to the fast tempo of bluegrass in the southern U.S where mandolin and banjo chops advanced in the company of the Sullivan family. 

Dave Gunning is simply a work horse with melody emanating oftentimes in an octave altered from the lead playing of JP. Dave is ribbed among “String Theory” enthusiasts (weekly guitar talk show hosted by J.P)  for how high he capos the guitar. The personality differential between these two is obviously broad adding to the appeal.

The guitar playing is something to behold. J.P exhibits scale mastery along the neck and utilizes open strings and altered chords for piquing interest. Then there is the dynamics and flow of a song that shows how extremely synchronized these two have become. 

We don’t know Jake well yet but the word is that he’s also a multi-instrumentalist at the ready for whatever flavour needs added to a song. 

The Western Canadian portion of the tour is underway and dates are posted on their web site “gunningandcormier.com”.  

Philosophy, Politics

SOTU Pomp and Circumstance

The acronym stands for “State of The Union” and it is an annual message from the President of The United states in front of sitting members of the Congress. The Constitution mandates the event in order to update citizens.

You would think it would be an apolitical affair instead of a cheerleading session given the mandate. The United States of America carries an enormous debt of $31 trillion. The country spent 28.5% more than it received in revenue in 2022. These are critical financial facts applicable for describing the “state of the nation”. In other words, as of this date of writing….every American citizen carries a debt burden of $94,325. That’s right…the citizens, many of which receive foods stamps, income support, and minimum wage pay carry this debt burden which if unable to ratify within their lifetime then becomes the burden of future generations. Is it conscionable to overspend my 28.5 per cent during a time when espoused by Joe Biden himself that the unemployment rate in America is at the lowest it’s been in 50 years?

With this kind of enormous debt, how is it that so many profitable corporations in America go without paying tax as referenced?  What kinds of loopholes are they deploying in order to avoid paying tax and why is it that this country cannot close loopholes to help save their solvency?

Of course there was the dismay at watching political elite hob nob around the assembly with their phony smiles and handshakes all while Turkey and Syria endure the enormity of death and despair amidst the ruins of a devastating earthquake and while young innocent soldiers heed the call of their nations to serve battlefields in Ukraine. Given the backdrop, one would expect at least some decorum instead politicking and cat calling from back benches and solemnity instead of hubris upon delivering news of the state not so candidly.   

Economics, Free Enterprise, Politics

Danielle Smith As Premier of Alberta

When I first heard Danielle Smith speak back in the days of the Wildrose Party….I was impressed. She has the capacity to think and she has admitted to mistakes.  Her biggest blunder of course was crossing the floor to the conservatives prior to the formulation of the “UCP”. In a word, she “blew up” and high tailed it right out of politics.

Years later…her constituents were willing to let bygones be bygones. 

Last week as premier she spoke again in defense of the Oil and Gas Industry. She makes strong arguments and is an admirable stalwart in representing the industry as she has characterized Ottawa’s “just transition” dogma.

However; COVID is coming back to haunt her. An election campaign promise to pardon rebel anti-covid campaigners from legal breaches wasn’t so well thought out now that it’s been determined legally that pardons are untenable. Most recently, there is rumour that her office had reached out to prosecutors assigned to the Coutts crossing blockade which transpired during the height of the pandemic. 

Serious conservatives are left wondering if her pandering to lunatics on the fringe is going to get the better of her and once more put us right back in the position of an NDP agenda.  I envision much head shaking in downtown Calgary board rooms as we wonder if this will be yet another government imbued in scandal rather than good governance.

Policy initiatives to help her gain our trust:

  1. Get to the very bottom of the health care crisis and implement strong accountability measures (including professional bodies) while carefully budgeting new federal transfer moneys.
  2. Clean up runaway crime working with cities
  3. Enact policy to shore up a housing shortage
  4. Clean up abandoned wells ensuring tight admin for reclamation deposits
  5. Facilitate smooth flowing commerce

Lifes Lessons

Travel Fiasco Xmas 2022 & Customer Service Generally

There was a travel fiasco during Xmas of 2022. It’s about values and conscientiousness. If values have been eroded and folks don’t care, service levels suffer. If an ego is so activated, there is trepidation with communication in fear of culpability. In a nutshell, this is what would have happened in the airline industry during Christmas of 2022. Things were off the rails and folks were patronized instead of treated with dignity. Let’s be clear. It’s undignified to basically hold one hostage with an absence of information.

Today the big wheels convene to sort out the mess and review the “Passenger Bill of Rights”. This amendment will be interesting in the context of competing interests and international differences in standards. 

Generally, there has been a wholehearted movement away from the telephone. The telephone is brilliant technology much more adept at handling multiple topics quickly without the need for typing skills. It has been a conduit for conducting commercial transaction for over a century. In fact, vocal tones in and of themselves along with what is not said provides for positivity in an exchange. Yet, newer generations swipe dismiss and fail to check their voice mail. 

Just today I spoke in consternation with a firm which has also admitted to dropping the ball in their relationship with me. Of course, all of the particular wheel spinning could have been avoided with a transparent adroit phone call.

You are right now involved in relationships with large corporations which do the following:

  1. They send you emails with the term “no-reply” in their email address.
  2. Do not provide a 1-800 number for service.
  3. Require you to deploy a smart phone to conduct a transaction only when an in person or voice telephone means is practical.
  4. Receive emails from service agents who do not include their name and /or phone number in the signature of an email.
  5. Have failed to notate relevant particulars to your account therefore requiring its repeat on subsequent outreach.
  6. Take up your valuable time with their propaganda in an outgoing phone message prior to providing a prompt.

You have mostly thrown up your arms in apathy because you feel there is no recourse. Then you become the one sleeping on an airport floor with your two year old. 

Uncategorized

Victimhood Abounds

Victimhoood abounds and group think is having an effect on those tasked with putting up internet headlines and then the drivel that follows. It’s come to light that there is a First Nations Group dismayed that they weren’t counseled in B.C.’s decision not to go forward with a 2030 Olympic bid and the press is giving them a voice. It’s ludicrous and argued by this group in the context of recommendations made by a commission dealing with “Truth and Reconciliation”.

Here is what I’d like to see happen in the context of truth and reconciliation. I’d like to see every indigenous citizen in our country leave tax exempt reserves and pay tax through work like everyone else. Temporary transitional housing and job training should be provided at a cost to taxpayers. Reserves should be put back to nature just like the requirement bestowed upon natural resource firms once operations cease. There should be a complete excavation of these grave sites with accountability. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be amended restricting the liberties of those who cannot care for themselves due to mental health and addiction issues so that they can be rehabilitated. The democratic process should be updated to reflect discourse through strict regulated administrative means as opposed to scenes of intimidating road blocks. In other words, I’d provide apprehension powers to the state for unlawful protest apparently more strict than what’s currently available. I’d encourage the complete removal of any affirmative action protocols at every level of government, industry and schools. The new stat holiday “Truth and Reconciliation” day should be abolished. I would amend school curriculums at the secondary level to include compulsory course work in personal development, free enterprise, economics / industry, business administration, capitalism, and capital markets.